NBA All Star Unis unveiled

The custom type is pretty cool. It's got a little bit of Veer's Alphaville and a whole lot of inspiration from Space Mountain. I like everything except the phoenix flames on the leg. The idea of linking it to the area is nice, but the execution could've been a lot better. Looks like it was designed with PC clip art. Here are some pics of what they'll look like in action courtesy of NBA2K.




The good news is the design of NBA All-Star games is getting a WHOLE lot better...

CBS Special Presentation Ident - 1973

Now THIS reminds me of Christmas, because following this was either a Rankin-Bass Rudolf special, Frosty, The Grinch or a Charlie Brown Christmas.

Tropfest NY 2008 winner uses only NYC typography.

Jason van Genderen’s Mankind Is No Island – a 3 ½ minute film that was shot entirely on a cell phone – took home the top $20,000 prize at Tropfest NY, the world’s largest short film festival. http://www.tropfest.com/ny/

HT to Armando for the find

Sol Sender - Obama Logo Design Part 1 of 2

One of the key aspects of Obama's campaign was the Obama brand. I think we'll see, more attention to design in campaigns from now on, especially presidential ones. I really like that 2nd finalist. It was a little playful, which could've hurt his chances, though.

Mexicana's new look

Courtesy of BrandNew, Mexicana has done a bit of rebranding. They smartly went away from the Mayan bold blocky looks that was associated with AeroMexico. Thoughts?

The Origin of The Hollywood Logos

Neatorama has a pretty interesting compilation of the studio logos and their origin. Like the Dreamworks kid fishing is the artist's son, MGM logo was inspired by Columbia University mascot, the lions and the Warner Brothers all changed their names (including surname).

The Curious Case of the Benjamin Button Typeface

You can't miss the marketing campaign for David Fincher's latest picture, but I've noticed that they changed the typeface from a beautifully custom designed, very literary feeling movie title, to a no-thought-put-to-it, Baskerville typeface that looks like it was thrown together in 3 minuutes. WTF!?

See for yourself:

BEFORE
Props on the smaller "F" and the contrast between the skinny "U"s and the "O"s! Fuckin' beautiful.

AFTER
Meh. See for yourself. The site is littered with Baskerville.


What's next? Australia in Times Roman?


At least they didn't use Trajan.

Type Conference, Veer Style.

Went to a very inspiring discussion on typography with fellow DDBers, Andrea, Jennifer and Pa hosted by Veer. Among many cool things (like script type is the most purchased type from Veer) was this video clip that is both hilarious and a sad refelection on the state of design.




Will post more later, but was happy to meet Brian Jaramillo of Agency 26 and Lettercult who shared his custom lettering goodies with us.

Typophile heaven.

The Typography of Quantum of Solace

The new Bond uses some great handwritten type whenever 007 goes to a different locale.

Done by Tomato http://www.tomato.co.uk/

Alphabeat What Is Happening New Single Official Video

HUMAN TYPE! A very happy video featuring DIY type. The typography starts around 1:00 in. HT to Miguel.

Mastercard Rebranding

Ick. I can't believe a company would brand themselves with this. The type, which doesn't work with the image isn't styled. It looks like Lucida Sans. Double-ick.

If they were going for a logo that looks like a retina diagram, then they've succeeded!

TIME Magazine Photoshop FAIL

Make that 8 things that could go wrong with voting machines. "Uh, mine is, er... floating."

A Celebration of Vintage Typography

Ahhh,... when designers weren't using the default InDesign font tools as a crutch and actually spending time with type and creating art.

Simply beautiful.

See more richness here.

Pepsi. You have to be kidding.

A contributor on the site Brand New found the registered work for the new Pepsi, Mtn Dew and Gatorade work. Now, this doesn't mean it will all be used or that this will be its ultimate form, but if it's been registered or trademarked it sure won't be too different.








It reminds me a little of this guy...




Or these guys...

The Obama Brand

Watching this year's election, one thing is obvious. Obama has created a solid brand. He's incorporated a consistent visual look that ties in beautifully with his strategy of hope, change and progress. On a side note, it has forced McCain to do the same but not with the same consistency as Obama. You might even see several similarities with his look and Obama's. Imitation is the sincerest form of trying to win an election.

First, he uses the H&FJ designed typeface, Gotham to communicate the themes of freshness and newness.



Secondly, his site is just visually beautiful. Using Gotham and a visual style that incorporates gradients and blends, he really hots a home run aesthetically and hits the strategy perfectly.

Lastly, his logo.


No other candidate has treated themself as a BRAND. George W. Bush, flirted a little bit by using just the "W" symbol, but not to the extent of carrying over on all pieces of communication. Designed by Chicago design firm, Sol Sender, The Obama "O" can be used by itself, or with other elements, the stripes are rows of fields, the inner "O" is the sun rising (again, utilizing the theme of change). It speaks volumes of a candidate who can create consistency and communicate a message visually. Just think how well he'll run the country.






Look at his competition.








Not nearly as clever or thought out as Obama's. But at least they haven't copied his style, yet.

Title this under: Things I Would Do If I Had Time

Design skateboards.

I found this cool site where it gives you all the resources to do so. Now if it only offered to clone me.

Laundomat Typography

Beautiful typography courtesy of Aestheically Gretch.

Ricky Gervais and the "Arthur" font

I was flipping through the latest Entertainment Weekly and I read an article about some of the big roles Ricky Gervais had turned down over the past couple of years. He had an offer to star in a remake of the Dudley Moore film, Arthur, Gervais responded, ''I said 'no' straight-away. Why would I mess with a perfect comedy? They know people don't watch films that have the wrong font — it's got an '80s font.''

Now, I can picture drunk Dudley, Liza Minelli and butler John Gielgud, but for the life of me, I can't remember what typeface was used. I know it would look dated today.

As my co-worker, writer, Miguel would say, "If only there was some way of instantly finding out information. You know, a collection or network of computers somehow linked together in some web fashion..."

To the library!

Okay, so the reason I couldn't picture what typeface was used is because A) It wasn't really a typical bad "80's" font. and B) They used several different treatments. Seems like consistency wasn't that important back then. Take a look.






By the way the fonts appear to be Bodoni and Franklin Gothic.

Quebec Typography

Signage Quebec City, originally uploaded by mahhcus.

During a summer vacation in Quebec, I found myself taking shots (primarily of "Des Bar Laitier" which are Ice Cream Stands) of typography. The design is beautiful there. Not too commercialized and not too Americanized. Check out more here http://www.flickr.com/photos/9192597@N06/sets/72157607352777526/.